PM: We'll let Israelis vote abroad
Netanyahu tells Likud faction his government plans to submit bill allowing every Israeli citizen to vote for Knesset from anywhere worldwide. 'It will contribute to the connection and to Israel's strength,' he says
The prime minister also said he would ask the government to approve a national transportation plan, which will promote railways bringing the periphery closer to central Israel.
If Knesset approves the bill allowing Israelis to vote abroad, it will implement one of the clauses included in the coalition agreement signed between Yisrael Beiteinu and the Likud.
According to the clause, "The government will form a governmental bill allowing the vote of Israelis who are abroad on Election Day, under conditions and criteria agreed upon by all the coalition members. The bill will be submitted to the Knesset within a year after the government's establishment."
Yisrael Beiteinu's chairman, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, also addressed the new bill on Monday as one of the main issues he plans to promote.
Speaking in a press conference at the Knesset, Lieberman said, "There are many things in the coalition agreement that we plan to implement. The law allowing Israelis abroad to vote will be voted on. We will also present the conversion law. I promise to keep 100% of the promises we made to our voters."
Turning to the diplomatic situation, Lieberman smiled. "On my way here, I received a phone call from one of the ministers who asked me what I was going to talk about. I'm going to talk about the Thailand-Cambodia border."
Lieberman calls his critics 'losers'
He went on to elaborate on the principles guiding his party. "Peace for peace," he said. "Peace is our heart's desire. We extend our hand to our enemies in peace, but as long as they have chosen war we must be prepared.
"Yisrael Beiteinu backs the approach of freeing ourselves from peace for territories. We need a partner leader. One of the solutions is an exchange of territories and populations. On the theoretic level, it must be symmetric and guarantee the State of Israel's stability."
Addressing the Palestinians, the foreign minister said, "I am certain that they prefer negotiating with (former Minister Yossi) Sarid and (former Minisetr Yossi) Beilin, and not with Netanyahu and Lieberman. I think they know that what Sarid and Beilin offer them will never be accepted in the State of Israel. On the other hand, any agreement finalized with Lieberman is accepted by 90% of the State of Israel's population."
He added, "We will definitely be tough in negotiations and won't make promises in the air."
Lieberman teased his critics in the political system, saying that "all those who have complaints about Yisarel Beiteinu's stand are the ones who lost the elections. They are losers and the rest are winners."
